ProFarm
Produce
is a wholesale fruit and produce company
that was founded by two brothers, Ryan and
Shane Stonemetz, in the summer of 2008. Ryan
and Shane are fourth generation farmers that
had no desire of taking over the family
business. They grew up watching their father
and grandfather work hard every minute of
everyday just to stress and wonder if the
fruit warehouses controlling the market
would pay enough to not only cover the
expenses for the previous year, but also
enough to provide for their family! So, Ryan
and Shane both went to college and graduated
in respected fields.

Ryan
living in Portland, and Shane living in
Seattle, couldn’t believe the markup in
prices of fruit from what the farmer got to
what it was sold for in the stores. They
were distraught knowing that their family
puts in all the hard work, the expenses, the
stress and pressure of growing high-quality
fruit just to be underpaid and unappreciated
by the “middle-man” and retailers! This is
when ProFarm Produce
was born.

Ryan
and Shane left everything they had going for
them, bought a little 12-foot reefer truck
and loaded it up with organic cherries. They
took off to Portland, OR with no wholesale
clients, but had a goal and were determined
to succeed. They knew if they can just get
the consumer to try their product and see
the price, they’d be hooked. They joined a
few local farmers markets in Portland, OR.
The response they got from customers on the
quality of their fruit and the prices they
sold them at, Ryan and Shane knew they were
on to something. Gradually they picked up a
few wholesale clients that then referred
other clients and ProFarm Produce
began to grow!

Now,
Ryan and Shane have bigger trucks, 20 farmers
markets in the Portland area, more wholesale
clients, and expanding to the Seattle
market. They started with a dream and goal
of cutting out the middle man and being a
direct wholesaler to the retailer and
consumer. They knew that not only would the
fruit be fresher, but they would have the
capability of selling their product at a
MUCH lower cost. Thus far, we’re on our way
to reaching our goals, and we’ve become a
dream come true for our customers.